Yoga and yoga therapy
There is a lot of talk about "yoga therapy" these days. So what is yoga therapy intended to mean? Given that I am not a certified yoga teacher I cannot clearly give you a definition of what yoga is, despite practicing it for 25 years. Although we all have an idea in general about what this is, and it is true that a yoga practice can be therapeutic. But the two are different.
Yoga can be differentiated from yoga therapy in the following ways. In Yoga Therapy, which is offered by either a certified yoga teacher or a mental health therapist with training in yoga therapy (100 hrs- 500 hrs.), the following principles are adhered to. A safe environment is created, meeting the client where they are at, individual empowerment, working within the client's "zone of tolerance", belief in the client's innate capacity for healing, inviting clients to embrace their instincts rather then brace against them, and finally there is as a rule no touch or hands on in yoga therapy.
On the last point, I know there are various opinions, and of course non sexual touch can be very healing. But as a starting point, no touch is the standard. If these principles are in place a client can move through challenging and perhaps uncomfortable internal experience with increasing tolerance for this eventually changing their relationship with their own body and changing the default. So the shift in Yoga to Yoga Therapy is from a focus on yoga methods and practices to the client's needs, and helping to balance their fight/flight/freeze system. The therapist here, needs to be aware of the client's system- is it being activated? Can I offer something to help bring the activated system back down, engaging the parasympathetic system or rest and digest. Yoga is a perfect system to assist in this; there is the physical work, the use of breath and the use of focus (harnessing the mind) so it uses the whole body to address a whole body problem. For example if depression is the identified problem, well depression does not just live in one's head and thoughts. One cannot think oneself out of depression. When you think of it nearly all mental health problems affect the individual's basic functions; appetite, sleep, energy, and the individual's moods. If the problem lives in the body, then the body must be engaged to help the problem move out of the body.
A key part of Yoga Therapy is the language that is used. It can be categorized as "welcoming" or "Invitational". so some examples are; become aware of... notice...if you're willing...when you're ready...be curious about...What do all of these have in common? Choice.
Food for thought; next time you are going to your favorite community yoga class, be curious about the language used.